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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — the month
  4. ball — a dance
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — for sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. march — music
  14. capital — money
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a city
  17. spell — letters
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. court — of law
  22. kick — in football
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com